Returning to the God of our fathers....

As a little girl, I learned about Jesus at my parents' knee.  I listened as they talked of spiritual things and sang as they lifted hymns up to heaven.  I prayed simple, childlike prayers and believed with a simple, childlike faith.  I went to church and Sunday school, said grace before dinner and prayed before bed.  I was a Christian......or at least I was to the best of my knowledge.

I grew up and grew away......I would have adamantly acknowledged Christ as my Savior....believing in Him with everything in me, however, the choices in my life did not reflect that belief.  I lived for myself, with an occasional nod to my Creator.  I wanted to be both a "Christian" and like everyone else in the world.  I worshiped the God of my fathers.....but I hadn't made Him my own.

As with all prodigals, I was brought low by my choices.  When the scales finally fell from my eyes, I fell to my knees and sought God....truly sought Him for the first time.  Rather than relying on my fathers' faith, I began to earnestly seek the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

And I have never quit seeking Him.

Through the years I have walked and I have stumbled, crawled and walked again.  God has gently brought me along, refining and remaking me.  And as He has continued to mold and shape me I have begun to question....never God, but every ritual and contrivance of man.  Why do we sit in pews, pass out grape juice and crackers and have "communion" once a month?  Why does every church I've ever been to follow the same script.... Announcements, Prayer, Praise & Prayer, Worship (3 songs), Prayer, Sermon (1/2 hour), Communion (if its the first Sunday of the month) Hymn (1st and last verse), and then Prayer?  Why do we sit in the same seats, chat with the same people and get involved with the same programs?    Why do we look like every other church in every other town in every other state?  And why are we just as lost and hopeless as the world around us?  The answer?  Man.

Man has created rituals and systems and programs with which to measure holiness.  However, rather than holiness they create emptiness - which brings me back to the question......why?  Why do we "worship" the way that we worship?  Why do we follow conventional form and function rather than search the scriptures to find how the first "church" followed Christ?

We're returning to the God of our fathers.....therein lies the reason we follow the rituals and contrivances of man.  Instead of seeking to follow the Christ of the Bible we are following the forms and conventions of the Roman Catholic Church, from which the Protestant Church was born.

The first church was a church of simple faith.  They gathered in homes, had everything in common and their numbers grew daily.  They broke bread together, ministered to each others needs, worshiped, shared news and were filled with the Holy Spirit.  They became the body of Christ, bound by chords of brotherly love.

That simple faith was slowly and completely replaced with the pageantry and ritual that is the Catholic Church.  Simplicity gave way to the worship of saints, a human priest once again became a go-between between man and God, and the sufficiency of Christ was replaced with penance and purgatory.  And thus the world was thrust into an age of darkness.

The Protestant Church was the rebellious child of the Catholic Church.  They wanted throw off the conventions of their Mother church, but never completely shed the deeply ingrained rituals associated  with their faith.  And the older the Protestant church becomes, the more they become like their parent.

Our quest for holiness should lead us to the simple faith of the Bible not to the rituals of man.  We should seek to return to the simple faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob not the pageantry of man-made religion.  We should ask why....and then we should search the scripture for the truth.

We have to return to the God of our true fathers.....not the God of our church fathers.  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  Matthew 6:33

The Traditions Continue....

It has been three years since the last Highland Hunt!  Three years!!!!  A new home, a new business, a new group of people - and finally, Sir Knight and I mustered the gumption to host another Highland Hunt!  

Actually, our Highland Hunt was the second shoot we hosted this year.  Our first shoot was our church's Men's Retreat shoot.  And since we got the tent out of storage and gathered tables and chair, we thought we should take the opportunity to have friends and family over and host the Highland Hunt in the true Highlands!!  Although we didn't dress up as we usually do, we did cook up a feast and had an incredible afternoon of fun, fellowship and firearms!!  

And now we pick up where we left off!!

Getting ready for the men's retreat

Clays and shot stacked high

A thing of beauty!

Master Hand Grenade, Miss Serenity and Sir Knight, ready to roll

The dessert and drinks table

A few of the shotguns (and Dragon Snack in the background)

The calm before the store (it had been raining and we hadn't put the chairs up around the fire-pit yet)

Some of the vehicles

They even let us girls shoot!!!

Sir Knight and Master Hand Grenade at the Highland Hunt

Miss Serenity killing clays!

Master Hand Grenade

Master Calvin blasting clays (with Sir Knight manning the clay thrower)

Serenity and Calvin shooting together (we ran two clay throwers)

Hand Grenade, Calvin and Sir Knight at the pistol range

My boys!!

Church on the Mountain Top

Maid Elizabeth and I have been hiking 3 miles every day with Sir Knight joining us on the weekends.  The younger children have been begging to join us, so this morning we decided to pack up the whole family, hit the trail and have church at the top of the mountain.

Sir Knight slung on his Blackhawk 3 day pack, I, my Blackhawk Hydrastorm and Miss Serenity and Princess Dragon Snack carried their small Condor packs.  Two of us had CamelBak's and the rest carried water bottles.  We loaded up and headed down the road (about 5 minutes) to a nearby park and set off for higher ground.

Princess Dragon Snack led the way, with Master Calvin close on her heels.  We thought the younger children would get tired quickly and anticipated carrying them, but both of them did remarkably well.  Dragon Snack led the whole way (and often had to wait up for the rest of us) and Master Calvin did all of the difficult hiking on his own two legs, only when we were almost done and going down hill did he poop out and accept a ride on Master Hand Grenade's shoulders.

Chainsaw art - someone put this smiley face on the end of the log

Takin' a breather

A coyote skull?

Single file

It was quite a hike heading up the trail (almost 2 miles of steep incline) but the views when we reached the top made every step worth taking.  It was incredible!

Looking over the cliffs to the lake far below, Sir Knight led our family in corporate worship.  What an incredible thing, in the midst of God's beautiful creation, to sing His praises accompanied by creatures He created.

Normally, Maid Elizabeth and I go traipsing out of the house with little more than our hiking clothes and pedometer, but today was a different story.  Sir Knight encouraged us to take our First Line Gear (thanks Joe Nobody!) and get used to wearing it.  Wow!  What a difference 20 pounds can make when you are hiking up the side of a mountain!  I thought it was going to kill me!  (Not really, but I had to stop with irritating frequency).  I did find out that my pack was incredibly comfortable.  It wasn't off-balanced and didn't rub and I loved having my Camelbak at my left shoulder whenever I needed a drink.  It did, however, make me realize that I had better get used to carrying my pack if I intend to be able to get out of dodge with my pack on my back.

Master Calvin bummin' a ride

Helping little brother across a dead-fall

There he goes!

Princess Dragon Snack

Miss Serenity running across

We had a great day.  We plan to ramp up our adventures and head out any chance we get. Next time, we will take homemade power bars (the kids got hungry about the time we hit the peak of the mountain) and make sure everyone is carrying their pack and Camelbak.

Not only did we have a wonderful time as a family, we got to take church to the mountain top.

Flypaper for Freaks

Yes, it actually says
"Jesus is my Homeboy"

Maid Elizabeth used to work at our local grocery store as a cashier.  She got up every morning, braided or put up her hair, washed her face, took her vitamins and had a cup of tea.  She carefully selected her clothes so that she always looked tidy and pleasant.  She made sure she brushed her teeth and rubbed lovely smelling lotion into her hands.  She took care of her appearance.  Although not showy, she always looked nice, well rested and happy.

One day, after a particularly trying day on the job she came home, plopped in a chair and said "Mom, I am flypaper for freaks!"  "What on earth are you talking about?" I said, somewhat amused by her assessment.  "All of the freaks go through my line", she said.  "If they smell bad, are drunk, are obviously high or any combination of those things - if they are Gothic, tattooed or pierced, they wait to go through my line.  The other checkers could be doing nothing at all, and they will wait anyway - just to go through my line!  What is wrong with me!?!"  I looked at my sweet girl for a moment and then it struck me - they went through her line because she offered them something that they didn't have.  She offered them hope.  She was different.  By being set apart, she drew people in.

It is an interesting study in Christianity to see our churches in action.  The more worldly the world becomes, the more worldly the church becomes.  The Church has become a product of the world instead of the world being transformed by the Church.  Rather than following the biblical mandate of fathers and mothers teaching their children and ministering to their families, the church now encourages families to be separated by Sunday School, Children's Church and Youth Group.  No longer are Christians "in the world but not of the world", they are "relevant" by becoming active participants in the culture of the world.  We now have "Christian" youth covered in tattoos, pierced in every conceivable location and wearing clothing that leaves nothing to the imagination.  And then we wonder why we are losing the battle for the lost souls in our neighborhoods, our counties and our nation.  What are we offering those lost souls?  We are offering them nothing.  Nothing but what the world has already offered them. We are letting them die in their sin because we are too weak to be set apart.  We want so badly to be relevant that we are impotent.

The truth of the matter is that you wouldn't seek mechanical advice from a mechanic whose yard is littered with dead cars.  You wouldn't ask an overweight friend how to be victorious in weight loss.  You wouldn't ask the parents of a juvenile delinquent how to raise your children to be honorable, productive members of society.  And you wouldn't ask the "christian" sitting next to you, with all of the "markers" of a lost world, the way to eternal life.

I know that you can't judge a book by the cover, however, the cover is what really draws us in.  When we litter our bodies with anti-social messages, how can we expect people to just ignore that and get to know our "inner-self"?  We can't.  When people are hurting and lost, they look for a ray of hope. They look for something different than what they already have.  It used to be that they would look to Christians, because Christians had something to offer.  Now, in our quest to be relevant and accepted, we have lost our light.  No longer can people see our Christianity because we have covered it in the cloak of the world.

God called for us to a peculiar people, set apart.  Peculiar has nothing to do with looking like the world.  Peculiar means just what it implies.  Peculiar.  Different.  Not normal.  Set apart.  Godly.  Being peculiar doesn't push people away, it draws them in a way that nothing else can.  Being peculiar means that you will become flypaper for freaks.

Maid Elizabeth, armed with a new understanding of her role, embraced her freaks.  Every day, she would show the love of Jesus to a hurting people.  She would carefully dress and prepare to be peculiar.  She would be ready with an answer when people would ask if she was Amish or something.  She would grin and say, "Yes, I am" when people would refer to her as "church girl".  She would look each person in they eye, smile at them and tell them to have a wonderful day.  She is now a very sought after personage to all of the local drunks.  They light up when they see her!  They consider her theirs and brag about her to anyone who will listen.  And guess what?  Right before she left for her trip to the Philippines, one of her "special people" took her aside and said "You're never going to believe this, but I am going to church for the first time in 24 years!"

People sought Maid Elizabeth out because she was different.  As Christians we really do need to be Flypaper for Freaks!

TEOTWAWKI and Relationships

The first time I read the book Patriots, I thought, "Oh, this was obviously written by a man!" There was no way that 5 women could live under the same roof and not kill each other, much less work together.  As a society, we are just not geared to co-exist in harmony.  We are unapologetically selfish.

Over the last 100 years or so, we have moved away from interconnected community into isolated family units.  Gone are the days when survival depended upon neighbor helping neighbor, and mutual respect was earned by the sweat of the brow - denying self in order to help another.  We have replaced Sunday dinners with Facebook updates and old fashioned letters with impersonal computer communications.  We simply don't need each other anymore.  That doesn't bode well for end of the world survival.

Relationship, in the modern age, has become a disposable commodity.  We don't need to get together for tea when we get all of the relationship we need from our online friends.  If the neighbors don't come help get in the harvest, we will just buy what we need.  If we lose our job, the government will step in and take care of our needs.  In reality, friends and neighbors are a bother.  They might hold us accountable for how we live our lives.  They may question our decisions.  They are certain to require an investment of our time and emotions.  If we form a relationship with someone, it will make it all the harder to toss them out like so much rubbish when they are no longer useful or have the audacity to disagree with us.  Real relationship is inconvenient.  But, in TEOTWAWKI, we will not survive without strong community, without relationship.

I am guilty of the death of relationships.  I have judged harshly, not been merciful and have been self-serving.  I have watched friendships die from lack of maintenance.  I have made a stand when I should have lent a hand.  I have been a poor friend.  But God, being a God of mercy, is showing me a better way.  As I prepare for the end of the world as we know it, I realize I must prepare for relationships if my family and I are going to survive.

In order to survive a serious grid-down situation, we are going to have to work together.  We are going to have to rely on each other's strengths and maximize the talents of our group.  If we don't start working on our own character now, we will be lacking the basic tools to allow us to function relationally when TSHTF.

One of the most important character traits to poses when you are building relationship is the trait of mercy.  As much as it goes against our grain, we have to see our friends and neighbors positive attributes and be blind to their shortcomings.  In reality, that is what all of us want - we long for people to see the good in us and never the bad.  We have to stifle that self-important part of ourselves that wants to gloat over others' shortcomings and instead encourage and exhort, putting ourselves in the position of servant rather than master.

We need to cultivate a humble spirit, given to building others up.  When things get bad, the last thing we need to deal with is each others petty power plays.  A humble attitude will go a long way toward building community.

Putting other peoples needs before our own will, in reality, serve us far more than demanding our own way.  It is hard enough in our regular, daily life to be more concerned with others than ourselves, but in a grid-down situation, it will be nearly impossible.  If we don't practice selflessness now, we won't stand a chance when things get really bad.  Being selfless is one of the truly great characteristics of a human being.  Putting all others before his own wants and desires is what Jesus did when he sacrificed himself on the cross.  And see where His selflessness got us?!  Everywhere.  Can you imagine what we could do if we actively pursued selflessness in our daily life?  We could move mountains! Selflessness will be the hallmark of the survivors at the end of the world.

Relationships can be challenging.  They can be inconvenient and messy.  But they also hold the key to survival when the world is turned upside down.  We were created for relationship with each other, not with computer friends or a few choice people who tell us what we want to hear, but with our neighbors, our families, our churches.

Yes, we all have warts.  We all are ugly and sinful.  But we need each other.  We need to develop mercy, grace and selflessness.  In order to reap the benefits of relationship, we must cultivate the tools of relationship.  Our only hope of survival is each other.  We have to learn to care for each other now, or we will not have the ability to survive the coming collapse.

After reading Patriots again, I decided that yes, it was written by a man, but a man who understood relationships and the necessity of banding together to overcome great odds.  He understood what it takes not just to survive, but to flourish.  He understood TEOTWAWKI and relationships.

Sacrificing our children on the alter of Youth Group

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Sacrificing our children on the alter of Youth Group

We are an anomaly in our community for the simple reason that we don't allow our children to go to youth group.

God created, in the family, the perfect system for passing on values and faith. He gave each family a Priest (Dad), a Teacher (Mom) and Disciples (Children). He gave us an environment perfectly suited to the raising and nurturing the next generation. When I say perfectly suited, I don't mean perfect. A family is made up of imperfect people. Dad and Mom will mess up, children will disobey. In short, a family is comprised of a group of sinners. But, that too, is God's plan. It is in the disagreements, misunderstandings, hurt feelings and humanness of our family, that God teaches us the most valuable lessons of life. It is in the classroom of the family that He teaches us humility, forgiveness, mercy, long suffering - the very attributes of His son.

The modern christian church is asking fathers to give up their priesthood, mothers to give up teaching their children and children to become disciples of the "youth pastors". Oh, they would never say that in so many words, however, that is the fruit that is being put forth. I believe that youth pastors have the best of intentions, but when we stray from the biblical format for the religious instruction of our children, the consequences are dire. Don't get me wrong - I don't think we should just let teenagers fall between the cracks. I think that "youth outreach" can be a wonderful thing. I just don't believe that as christian parents we can afford to abdicate our roles as parents and give authority for the instruction of our children over to 20-something, newly married, well meaning youth pastors. As parents, we have a vested interest in our children and their future. We also have an obligation before God. When we allow our children to go to youth group, we encourage them to become self-focused. Youth group is typically made to be focused on youth (no surprise), therefore the focus is on doing things that are "relevant" to youth. "Their" music is played, "their" skits are performed, they discuss how "they" can make an impact. Where is God? Where is His holiness?

Adolescence is an incredible time. God used many young people to accomplish His will. Teenagers are FULL of conviction and FULL of action. They can be on fire for Christ like no one else! But they need Godly counsel to battle the pulls of the world. God gave children parents to be that Godly counsel. When your kid goes to the youth pastor to get "dating" advice rather than asking your counsel, you know that you have been replaced. I can almost guarantee that rather than telling your son or daughter to go to his dad with his questions, your youth pastor will give him the advice that he seeks. And I can almost guarantee that it will not be the same counsel that you would have given. And your kids knows this, which is why he asked his youth pastor in the first place. You see, you have put someone else in the position of authority with your child. Someone who thinks they are doing a good thing, but they don't know your child like you do, they don't have the same vested interest that you do and they don't have the God given responsibility that you have.

Christianity is losing more people than it is gaining. Our children are looking to the world for answers, not to the church. Maybe the church should be turning children to their parents. Maybe the church should be teaching fathers to be the Priest, Prophet, Provider and Protectors of their families. Maybe the church should be teaching mothers to be keepers at home, to love their husbands and to teach their children. Maybe the church should be in the business of discipling families, not trying to take the place of families.

Child Care or Prostitution?

Monday, January 18, 2010

Child-care or Prostitution?

At first glance, those two subjects seem to be worlds apart. However, I was talking to a  pastor's wife the other day and it got me thinking....

I am a converted career woman. When our oldest daughter was little, I dropped her off at daycare every day and headed to my "full filling" job as a paralegal. I was miserable. When I was at home with my family, I felt guilty about not being at work. When I was at work, I felt guilty about not being at home. I knew there had to be more than this, I just didn't know what that might be. When our daughter was about four, God, in His sovereignty, made some amazing changes in our family. He showed me the value of Proverbs 31, but even better, He gave me an older woman to guide me toward my husband, my home and my children, in a very Titus 2 sort of way. I quit my job, started homeschooling, became a homesteader, started having babies and generally did an about face.

Back to the pastor's wife. She provides child care for many families. She and her husband have two children of their own, but she loves little ones, so rather than have more children, she watches other peoples kids. She is a wonderful, caring lady, who wants to serve the Lord in all that she does, but as I sat visiting with her, watching these little ones play and seek her attention and approval, I was grieved.

Proverbs, along with many other sections of scripture, guide women toward our high calling. We have myriad duties in our families. Wife, mother, teacher, cook, housekeeper, organizer to name a few. Each of those duties require time, effort, sacrifice and most of all, love, to accomplish. We have a tough job! But, what if we want to shift some of those responsibilities to someone else? Some jobs are temporal, so parceling them out is neither here nor there. Cleaning can be delegated. Someone can come in to help cook. But what about our wifely duties toward our husbands? That certainly can't be hired out! That would be called prostitution. What wife would ever say "well, I'm tired tonight - I wounder if Jenny down the road could use a few extra dollars?" I don't think so. The relationship between husband and wife is sacred. Can you imagine a pastor standing in the pulpit announcing that the church had started up a program for the husbands in the church to be "cared for"? It would be an all Christian service, so wouldn't that be great? Of course, that would be ludicrous. But we do it all of the time. We do it with our children. Our relationship with our children is eternal. We cannot "prostitute" that duty out to some "daytime caregiver"! And our churches openly advertise from the pulpit - "we now offer christian daytime childcare so that you know your little ones are well cared for while you go off to work". What are we thinking?!?

Our children are precious. They could never do this in daycare....


and definitely not THIS.....

They would miss out on being with their parents and their brothers and sisters....

Please know that I understand that there are some circumstances that make staying home with your children impossible. However, for most of us, it means choosing a different lifestyle. That choice has eternal consequences. Our churches need to be sounding the trumpet. They need to be encouraging mother to love their husbands and children. They need to encourage fathers to the priests, providers, prophets and protectors of their homes. If we do these things our children will rise up and call us blessed!